Shadow in the Sky
by Mika Casey
Summary: A prophecy is revealed on the night of the full moon: "A shadow in the sky will blot out the stars and change the clans forever..."
1. Introduction: LightningClan

**_LightningClan_**

_Leader:_

**Fogstar** - silver tom with black stripes and green eyes

_Deputy:_

**Birdfeather** - long-furred tortiseshell she-cat with a white belly and amber eyes

_Medicine Cat:_

**Mistfur** - long-furred gray she-cat with blue eyes

_Warriors:_

**Mudstep** - slender cream tom with brown paws, tail, and ears, and blue eyes  
**Sandwhisker** - small pale ginger she-cat with green eyes  
**Snakeheart** - dark brown and white tom with green eyes  
**Mouseclaw** - white tom with cream patches and amber eyes  
**Stormfreeze **- dark gray tom with dark green eyes

_Queens:_

**Breezeflower** - pale gray she-cat with dark green eyes  
(Mate: Mudstep. Kits: **Beekit** and **Spiderkit**)  
**Whitecloud** - long-furred white she-cat with light blue eyes  
(Mate: Snakeheart. Kits: Expecting)

_Apprentices:_

**Stonepaw** - gray she-cat with dark stripes and amber eyes  
(Mentor: Mouseclaw)  
**Tigerpaw** - dark brown tom with black stripes and blue eyes  
(Mentor: Birdfeather)  
**Rainpaw **- dark gray tom with dark blue eyes  
(Mentor: Fogstar)  
**Shadowpaw **- black tom with amber eyes  
(Mentor: Stormfreeze)

_Elders:_

**Treefang** - dark brown tom with dark green eyes  
**Hazelnose** - tortiseshell she-cat with amber eyes


	2. Introduction: MountainClan

**_MountainClan_**

_Leader:_

**Streamstar** - gray and white she-cat with light blue eyes

_Deputy:_

**Blazeheart** - ginger tom with green eyes

_Medicine Cat:_

**Smoketail** - heavyset black tom with gray eyes  
**Tornpaw** - dark brown tom with an injured paw and green eyes

_Warriors:_

**Duskfire** - dark gray tomcat with blue eyes  
**Fawnstripe** - pale brown she-cat with amber eyes  
**Bushtail** - brown tom with a fluffed up tail and amber eyes  
**Sootleg** - black tom with green eyes  
**Mapleleaf** - tortiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

_Queens:_

**Brightstep** - cream she-cat with blue eyes  
(Mate: Duskfire. Kits: **Stripekit** and **Twistkit**)  
Sunpetal - long-furred pale ginger she-cat with green eyes  
(Mate: Bushtail. Kits: **Pinekit**, **Thistlekit**, and **Featherkit**)

_Apprentices:_

**Branchpaw** - pale brown tom with amber eyes  
(Mentor: Fawnstripe)  
**Moonpaw** - slender silver she-cat with bright blue eyes  
(Mentor: Blazeheart)  
**Skypaw** - very pale brown she-cat with pale blue eyes

_Elders:_

**Fishnose** - silver tom with pale blue eyes, blind


	3. Prologue: Prophecy

**_Prologue: The Prophecy_**

* * *

Three cats stared down into the depths of a silver stream, watching the flickering stars through the reflections in the water.

A big black tomcat spoke to the youngest cat, who had been just named an apprentice. "Tornpaw, kneel down and touch your nose to the water. You will fall asleep, do not be alarmed. It is time for you to share tongues with your warrior ancestors." His voice was smooth, trusting of the cats that wandered in the stars.

The young tom did as he was told. When his nose touched the water, he shivered at the cold. But he soon relaxed, and the other two cats knew he was dreaming.

A she-cat with long gray fur purred. "Tornpaw is promising. How is he with herbs?"

"He learned them all when he was a kit. He knows how he wants to serve his clan." The black tomback meowed proudly.

The LightningClan medicine cat inquired. "Why is his paw twisted?"

Responding hastily, the black cat said. "He was born that way. But that didn't stop him from causing trouble around the camp with he was younger. And he chose to be a medicine cat, MountainClan could have trained him as a warrior if he wished."

_With a lame paw?_ She asked silently. She wasn't sure that Smoketail, the black tom, was telling the whole truth. But the young cat did look eager to share tongues with StarClan.

"Well, Mistfur?" Smoketail interrupted her thoughts. "Shouldn't we share tongues as well before the moon sets?"

Nodding distractedly, Mistfur leaned down and touched her nose to the cold water.

* * *

Mistfur opened her eyes into a clearing. Only one StarClan cat greeted her tonight; a light brown tom with unusual gray eyes. He had been her mentor before he joined StarClan. The tomcat touched his nose to hers. "Greetings, Mistfur. I have a message for you."

Curling her tail around her haunches, Mistfur waited.

Suddenly, the light in the clearing was gone. It was as if someone shut out the sun. She couldn't see the brown tom, but she heard his mew, low and foreboding. "A shadow in the sky will blot out the stars and change the clans forever..."

* * *

Mistfur felt the rush of the stream past her nose, and realized she had woken. She sat up quickly, shaking her muzzle to get the drops of water off. She trembled, and then felt Smoketail's pelt against hers.

"Was your dream unsettling too?" He growled softly. Mistfur turned to see that Tornpaw was still in a trance, nose submerged in the water.

She nodded. "I...I'll need some time to think about it."

Looking up at the stars, she shivered. _Blot out the stars? But how will we see StarClan?_


	4. Chapter 1: Dawn Patrol

_**Chapter 1: Dawn Patrol**_

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as a small black tomcat padded along the stream that seperated LightningClan from MountainClan. On his side of the river, there was lush undergrowth and tall trees. On the other was a tall mountain, many caves, and a few shorter trees. He opened his mouth, scenting to see if a MountainClan patrol was going to run into them.

His mentor spoke. "Shadowpaw, don't go too close to the water. Remember what I taught you about this river." His mentor was a dark gray tom with eyes like green olives. He was watching Shadowpaw closely.

Shadowpaw remembered. His mentor, Stormfreeze, had told him a story about one of Hazelnose's kits. Hazelnose was a LightningClan elder, formerly a queen. One of her kits had ventured out of the camp at night, and hadn't seen the water. The kit had fallen in and was swept away, never to be seen again.

He veered away from the water. Looking over his shoulder in the pale morning light, he saw Stormfreeze and a small pale ginger she-cat. She was mewing something to Stormfreeze, too quiet for Shadowpaw to hear.

Shadowpaw growled._ I'm ten moons old! Three more moons, and I'll be old enough to be a warrior! Why does everyone always keep secrets from me?_

He sulked for the rest of the walk down the stream.

"No sign of MountainClan. They've kept to their borders." Meowed she-cat, Sandwhisker, impressed. MountainClan was very aggressive usually, but things had been peaceful for moons. "Let's go back to camp."

The trio turned away from the river and padded into the undergrowth. They walked for a little while, quickly paced because their bellies were rumbling with hunger.

* * *

When they got back to camp, Shadowpaw saw the other apprentices eating fresh-kill by the apprentice's den. Their den was in a gnarled tree root, which was warm when properly stalked with moss. He rushed to the fresh-kill pile, and grabbed a mouse with his teeth and scurried over to his denmates.

"Morning, Shadowpaw! How was dawn patrol?" The only she-cat, a beautiful gray she-cat with dark stripes and amber eyes, purred.

Shadowpaw answered. "No sign of MountainClan, Stonepaw." He quoted Sandwhisker.

A dark brown tom with black stripes, called Tigerpaw, meowed. "That's too bad." He looked crestfallen. Tigerpaw and his brother Rainpaw were a couple moons younger than Shadowpaw, while Stonepaw was already thirteen moons old.

"Why? Are you itching for a fight?" Rainpaw teased, fluffing up his dark gray fur.

Tigerpaw spat at his brother. "Yeah. A fight with you!" He pounced on Rainpaw and put a sheathed paw at his throat.

Stonepaw cuffed Tigerpaw over the head. "Settle down, you two! Or I will have to tell your mother that you need to go back into the nursery because you're acting like kits." She hissed, mostly at Tigerpaw.

Shadowpaw was watching all this while thoughtfully chewing on his mouse. Stonepaw would probably be named a warrior soon. And since the kits in the nursery were so young, that would mean one less cat for apprentice duties. He sighed. He would surely miss Stonepaw when she left the den.


End file.
